Monday, September 29, 2008

Thunder Games to be Broadcast on Fox Sports Net

Via TheSportsAnimal.com:In news that comes as no surprise, the Thunder have announced that they will televise their games on Fox Sports Net. Furthermore, in news that comes as total surprise, Fox Sports Net will create a new network, Fox Sports Net Oklahoma, to cater to local interests. This replaces the old network covering Oklahoma, Fox Sports Net Southwest.

During Thunder games, the new network will be labeled as Fox Sports Thunder. It will have pre and post game shows (aptly named Thunder LIVE), along with a weekly magazine show.

Besides Thunder games, the piece says it will show OU, OSU, and "Olympic" events. They say that they'll even have some shows specializing in local sports.

So, what does this mean for you? Is it good news?

Well, first of all, yes, this is fabulous news. If fact, the news probably is all we could ask for. I was kind of hoping that we'd get to our roots and have the games broadcast locally on the CW or Channel 43, but Fox Sports Net is just as good. I have no doubts that it will be much better than Cox would be, as it makes the games available to more customers without NBA League Pass.

The creation of a new network is even better news. If they had attempted to stick us on Fox Sports Southwest, Thunder games would spend a lot of time on FSN+, which people have to pay for. As a longtime Warriors fan who watches games on Fox Sports Net Bay Area, believe me, it's a very bad thing. If you'd look through the comments on several Golden State of Mind game threads, you'd find a bunch of super pissed off fans, who didn't like the fact that they got replaced by Sharks hockey.

But, the question remains. Outside of Thunder stuff, why would you watch this network? I mean, OU and OSU football and basketball are already contracted out, except on rare occasions when the games are on all FSN affiliates. I can tell you right now, there's not going to be much worthwhile. Most of the programs will be cookie cutter national crap that no one watches.

Still, this is a very small complaint, given that we're getting a whole new network and maximum coverage. 65 games will be covered, with over half of them in HD. Absolutely meaningless to HD-less people like me, but I've heard from other fans that non-HD on an HDTV really, really sucks.

Stay tuned for more info from media day as soon as we can bring it to you!

OKluschens Note: This really sucks for Mavericks fans in the state, who will no longer be able to get most of the season without League Pass. Same for anyone else who relied on anything in FSN Southwest. Nevertheless, this is a lot better than just tacking on games to FSN Southwest.

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